SG Americas Securities LLC Buys New Shares in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,526 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,171,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the first quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $101,668,000 after acquiring an additional 695,355 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at $101,695,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at $76,910,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,008,000 after acquiring an additional 292,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 205.5% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 418,884 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $64,433,000 after buying an additional 281,773 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph Keough purchased 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MTH. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $64.53 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $66.17 and a 200-day moving average of $74.09. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.37. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.06 earnings per share. Meritage Homes's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs and builds single-family attached and detached homes in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Homebuilding and Financial Services. It acquires and develops land; and constructs, markets, and sells homes for entry-level and first move-up buyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

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